It is well known in motor vehicles to provide an inflatable air bag which deploys into the occupant compartment to cushion the occupant. Such air bag systems are known to include a driver air bag mounted on a steering wheel, a passenger air bag mounted on the instrument panel forwardly of the passenger seating position, and also supplemental air bags which may be mounted elsewhere on the vehicle structure such as on a seat, door, or roof.
In such air bag installations, it is known to mount an air bag module beneath the surface of a vehicle panel and provide an air bag deployment opening in the vehicle panel through which the air bag may inflate. The deployment opening is conventionally closed by a cover panel which is normally held in the closed position and opens in response to air bag deployment. The cover panel conceals the air bag module from view.
The cover panel is conventionally a relatively small panel which is arranged to fit flush within an opening provided in a larger vehicle panel, such as the instrument panel, door panel, or other panel. Alternatively, the cover panel may extend the full dimension of the vehicle panel, such as the instrument panel cover of U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,901 by William J. Barnes.
It would be desirable to provide a new and improved releasable fastener for facilitating assembly of the vehicle, normally retaining the air bag cover panel in the closed position, and releasing the cover panel for opening movement upon inflation of the air bag.